Automated banking machines are well known. A common type of automated banking machine used by consumers is an automated teller machine (“ATM”), colloquially known by terms such as “cash dispenser”, “cash machine” or “hole-in-the-wall”. ATMs enable customers to carry out banking transactions. Common banking transactions that may be carried out with ATMs include the dispensing of cash in the form of paper currency, the receipt of deposits, the transfer of funds between accounts, the payment of bills, account balance inquiries and mobile phone top-up etc. The types of banking transactions a customer can carry out are determined by capabilities of the particular banking machine and the institution offering the service.
In the United Kingdom there are around seventy thousand ATMs and this number is on the increase. ATM fraud is also on the increase and perpetrators are constantly devising new ways in which to fraudulently extract cash from inside ATMs. One method in which perpetrators attempt to extract cash from an ATM is by using a cash capture device. A cash capture device is one in which a perpetrator inserts a fraudulent device in to a cash dispensing slot such that the cash is retained inside the ATM and not dispensed to a user who has requested the cash. The perpetrator then returns to the ATM to remove the cash that is retained inside the ATM.
US 2005/0269345 discloses a security means comprising a spray tray; a dispenser slot positioned so as to dispense media into the spray tray; and a security cover positioned to cover said spray tray and slot. The cover is arranged so as to cause a sweep member to sweep past the dispenser slot and thus dislodge any foreign body adjacent the slot, when the cover is moved between closed and opened position. However, this approach does not provide a solution to detect a cash capture device, such as a cash claw being inserted through the cash dispenser into a presenter area of the ATM.
US 2008/0136657 discloses an ATM comprising a fascia having a cash dispensing aperture, a sensor arranged to detect the present of an object outside of the aperture and the distance to the object and a processor. The processor is arranged to determine from the output of the detector whether the distance to the object is within a predetermined maximum and whether the object is moving or stationary and then outputs a signal based on the detection. The purpose of this disclosure is to detect a dummy fascia and once detected an alarm is generated and the ATM taken off line.
ATM fraud appears to be on the increase because it produces cash and is fairly low risk relative to other crimes. The equipment used is inexpensive, readily available and expendable—which makes ATM fraud popular with organized crime networks. Hence there is a need in the art to provide an improved apparatus for cash capture device detection.